Fine SA wines can now be enjoyed across the globe
PROUDLY South African wines produced by the Stellenbosch-based company La Ricmal are nestled on wine shelves of liquor and retail stores in China, Ghana, Angola, Nigeria and Zambia.
Wine lovers in Russia, the US, India, Kenya and Uganda will soon enjoy the taste of the La Ricmal wines as well, thanks to the international trade missions and national pavilions organised by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) to assist local companies seeking an export market in various parts of the world.
The department established the Export Marketing and Investment Assistance (EMIA) Scheme with the objective of developing export markets for South African products and services.
In the 2019-2020 financial year, more than 500 small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) were funded by the department to search for international markets for their products and services.
La RicMal founder and marketing director Malcolm Green said that international trade missions and exhibitions played a critical role in enabling him to expand his company’s footprint internationally.
Green founded his business with his son Ricardo in 2007.
Today the company employs 30 people.
“We cannot be grateful enough to government for seeing the bigger picture by recognising the critical contribution of small businesses in particular, in creating jobs and growing the economy.
“I see this as a win-win relationship between small businesses that require support to grow, and the government.
“Securing deals in different international markets means that our companies will have to increase production to service the new markets, and this
means increasing our labour force and generating export revenue for the country,” Green said.
La RicMal was among the liquor companies negatively impacted by the ban on alcohol during the country’s lockdown, but Green made use of the domestic lull in trade to dedicate more energy, effort and time to secure more deals on the international market.
“I continued to pursue contacts that I have made in various countries for possible deals in America, Moscow, Kenya and Uganda,” he said.
Green added that foreign economic representatives (FERs), from the DTIC located in the various embassies across the globe, were a huge asset for any company harbouring ambitions of securing an export market in any sector.
For more informaiton on La RicMal visit www.laricmal.com